The Lone Ranger star broke down the breakup and its aftermath in an interview with Rolling Stone.

"The last couple years have been a bit bumpy," Depp told the magazine. "At times, certainly unpleasant, but that's the nature of breakups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved."

"Relationships are very difficult. Especially in the racket that I'm in because you're constantly away or they're away and so it's hard. It wasn't easy on her. It wasn't easy on me. It wasn't easy on the kids. So, yeah. The trajectory of that relationship — you play it out until it goes, one thing leads to another," the 50-year-old actor explained. "So for whatever reason that ­ceases, it doesn't stop the fact that you care for that person, and they're the mother of your kids, and you'll always know each other, and you're always gonna be in each other's lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it."

Depp said he had to choose his methods of coping with the split carefully. "In terms of the breakup, I definitely wasn't going to rely on the drink to ease things or cushion the blow or cushion the situation, 'cause that could have been fatal. I felt it was my duty to be real clear throughout that. I had something pretty serious to focus on, really, which was making sure that my kids were gonna be cool."

And so far, the kids are doing great.

"They've been incredibly understanding, incredibly strong throughout the whole ordeal. And it's hard on every side. You know, Vanessa's side, certainly not easy. My side, not easy. The kids are the most complicated," he said. "The thing is, kiddies come first. You can't shield them, because then you'd be lying. So you can at least be honest with your kids, and you say the absolute truth to your child — that was very important to not pussyfoot around."

Sounds like if anyone knows what's really happening between him and Amber Heard, it's those kids.